We Met on a Trip 10 Years Ago

Ten years ago, I was fourteen, a middle school student.

I had come far away for a one-week family trip. On the first day of the trip, I walked alone along the seaside.

“Waaah… waaah…!”

I found a short-haired girl in a straw hat and a dress crying. She looked about elementary school age.

She seemed extremely distressed and was crying hard, so I spoke to her. I thought that talking to an unknown girl might get me treated like a pervert, but I could not just ignore her.

“Little miss, what’s wrong?”

“…It hurts… it hurts…”

When I looked closely, she had scraped her knee. She must have fallen and gotten injured.

“Wait a minute; I have a bandage.”

I was clumsy and foolish myself and often got hurt, so I carried bandages with me. It was good that I had a bandage. My clumsy and foolish side had proven useful for the first time.

I put a bandage on the girl’s knee.

The girl stopped crying. Good, good.

“What were you doing out here alone?”

“I got separated from Papa and Mama…”

She was lost… Getting lost and then getting injured on top of that was a real misfortune. No wonder she was crying so hard. I needed to help her find Papa and Mama.

“What’s your name?”

“…Kaede…”

“Kaede-chan, huh. How old are you?”

“Seven…”

Seven-year-old Kaede-chan was lost.

“I see. I’m Ryoma, fourteen.”

“…Ryou-kun…”

It’s Ryoma. Well, she could call me whatever she wanted.

I searched around with Kaede-chan for her parents.

Somehow, by the time the sun set, we found Papa and Mama. It was good that she reunited with them. Good, good.

I never dreamed that the father of Kaede-chan, whom I met at that time, was the president of the major corporation Nakajo Group.

“Thanks, Ryou-kun! Bye-bye!”

Kaede-chan waved happily.

The next day, I met Kaede-chan again, and during the one week of the trip, we played together a lot.

―――――――――

The memory from ten years ago finished replaying in my mind.

“That look on your face… You finally remembered, huh, Ryou-kun.”

“…You’re… Kaede-chan…? You’re that Kaede-chan!?”

“Yeah, long time no see. I’m so glad to see you, Ryou-kun. But it took you a while to notice, so I’m a little sulky.”

“S-Sorry…”

Ten years ago, just one week of memories. I could not recall them right away.

Back then, Kaede-chan had been wearing a hat, and her hair was short, so I had not recognized her. So her hair was this beautiful blonde.

“For the past ten years since then, I’ve kept thinking about you.”

“…!”

She looked straight at me with eyes that shone beautifully, and my heart pounded so hard it felt like something pierced it. My face must have been burning up right now.

“Using the power of our Nakajo Group, I identified you, and I planned to go confess my feelings to you after I graduated high school… But when I heard that you got fired from your job and were kicked out of your house, I could not stand it anymore, so I came to see you.”

“I-Is that what happened?”

“So, what do you think? Of me after ten years. Did I become a fine woman?”

With that, Kaede-chan struck a sexy pose.

“…Y-Yeah… Absolutely, incredibly…”

“Really!?”

“Yeah, you’ve become so beautiful…”

“Hehe, that makes me happy.”

She had become such a fine woman that I did not know where to look, or rather, I could not look directly at her.

Her sexy pose emphasized her ample breasts, and the slight jiggle caught my eye and burned into it. It proved that she had developed very well.

Amazing; she had really grown splendidly. That girl who had been so tiny back then had become like this…

…In contrast, I…

“…Sorry, Kaede-chan. You must be disillusioned seeing me now.”

“Huh?”

Kaede-chan tilted her head. She looked at me with half-lidded eyes.

“I got fired from my job, lost my home, and became a total failure who had fallen as low as possible…”

“Ryou-kun, you’re still twenty-four, right? You’ve got plenty of time ahead! If you’ve fallen, just climb back up again; that’s all it takes. I believe you can turn it around from here and win.”

“Thanks; you’re kind, Kaede-chan. But it’s impossible. You’re overestimating me; I’m not that great a person at all.

We met, sure, but it was just that one week ten years ago. That’s way too short. A relationship of just one week is nowhere near enough reason for you to think of me for ten years and treat me this well.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? The length of time doesn’t matter. Isn’t it romantic to meet on a trip and fall in love?”

“No, even if you say fall in love… Kaede-chan was a seven-year-old elementary school kid back then…”

“Ahaha, I was joking.”

…Well, I did feel sexual desire toward the current Kaede-chan… But I could never say that to her, even if my mouth split open.

Looking at such a once pure and innocent girl with such lecherous eyes made the guilt pile up endlessly. I was a hopelessly filthy, lowly man.

“…So, the bath is ready; are you getting in? Or not?”

“Th-That’s…”

I hesitated. Feelings of not wanting to impose clashed with the thought that since she had gone this far to offer, I should accept her kindness.

“Hey, what are you going to do?”

“…!”

To match my eye level as I sat on the veranda, Kaede-chan squatted down. Then she leaned in close to peer at my face.

It was bad for my heart; I could not meet her straightforward gaze and looked down.

Then, because she wore a top that opened at the chest, I caught a glimpse of her cleavage, and I hurriedly looked even lower.

But now her panties were almost visible. She wore a short skirt, and the destructive power of her long, bare legs was intense; I quickly averted my gaze.

I did not look, I did not look. It was a close call, but I did not see her panties. Safe, safe.

“…If you really do not want to live here no matter what, of course I will not force you, and you can go home right now…”

“It’s not that I do not want to; it’s just that I feel bad…”

“If you do not dislike it, then take a bath. And go to sleep. That ends this discussion! Well, I’ll go now.”

“W-Wait, Kaede-chan.”

“What?”

“…No, never mind.”

“…Want to take a bath with me?”

“No!!”

…

Should I take the bath… If I’m going to, I should do it quickly so I do not cause trouble…

When I went to the bath, it was about ten times the size of the one in the house where I used to live, and my jaw dropped in astonishment.

―――――――――

Kaede’s Perspective

After confirming that Ryou-kun had gone to the bath, I entered my own room.

I looked at the transparent small bottle on my desk. Inside that bottle was a bandage.

It was the bandage that Ryou-kun had put on me ten years ago when I got hurt.

I still kept it carefully preserved.

“…Hehe, hehehe…”

Ryou-kun had come to my house. It would become a memorable day I would never forget in my life.

As I gazed at the bandage, I could not stop a smile from spilling out.